A kid born today will drive... : Open Topic Discussion - Page 2

Re: A kid born today will drive...

by pea-jay » Sat 09 Jun 2007, 02:18:33

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('basil_hayden', 'T')he next point would be that from the perspective of efficiency, nothing beats liquid fuel. Electric cars are a waste (or they'd already be here), gases are not dense enough.

Wrong. From well to wheel, an electrically powered motor beats a gas fueled internal combustion engine hands down in terms of efficiency, flexibility and simplicity. Where they fall short (and it IS a biggie) is in convenience. Liquids are simply more convenient than dealing with a battery powered system or constructing a power supply system so the vehicle can run directly on the grid. Hence liquid fuel dominance in the transportation sector (though electrified train networks are chipping away at the rail sector). Call electrics inconvenient--because of the lack of investment in the technology and infrastructure compared to liquids--but dont call it inefficient.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('basil_hayden', 'A') further point would be that cellulosic ethanol or biodiesel is within our grasp, as opposed to fusion reactors which have been the joke of the last half century.

Fusion is of course the fuel of the future and will always be. But keep dreaming about cellulosic as well. The nature of the cellulosic bond (it is after all the tough part of the plant) make the liklihood of a simple reaction or fermentation process to break those bonds pretty slim. Plus you have to factor in that our current energy consumption already exceeds the planetary annual productivity by a large factor--something like 400 times. There is no way, no how we are going to grow our way out of this with the current pathetic yields we get on biofuels. Or to put it another way, we will persue a strategy that takes plants which capture maybe 1-2% of the solar energy, convert at best 10-15% of that into a useable biofuel and stick that into our gasoline powered car, turning but 35% max into kinetic (driving energy). If you believe that you may have been drinking too much ethanol instead of driving with it.

Contrast that to solar panel that captures at a minimum 10-12% of the solar energy and sends a large portion of that to a battery which turns 90% of that electricity into motion. Its not even close.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('basil_hayden', 'A')lso, I'm in America, where the car represents freedom, like the gun does, and face it - neither are going away no matter what you want to happen.

The car may represent freedom but that right may be plucked from our very hands before they are cold and dead by the cruel realities of the energy predictament we are in.

A kid born today will drive...

A kid born today will drive...

Re: A kid born today will drive...

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